Related

Two passengers walked away from a float plane crash Friday near Tofino that killed two and sent two others to hospital.

After a search that took more than four hours, the crash site was located about 3 p.m. near Boat Basin, five kilometres north of the plane’s takeoff point.

Two people are believed dead, two in serious condition and two others are “OK,” said Bill Yearwood, spokesman for the Transportation Safety Board.

The pilot sent out a distress call three minutes after the chartered plane took off from Hesquiat Lake, near Hot Springs Cove, according to the Island District RCMP, which was notified at 10:55 a.m. Friday.

The five passengers were hikers. No further information on their identities was available, pending the notification of next of kin, said Lt. Greg Menzies of the Department of Defence.

Hesquiat Lake is north of Tofino and the provincial park of the same name can only be accessed by boat or float plane. There are few visitors due to its remote nature. The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre dispatched several aircraft from CFB Comox and the RCMP West Coast Marine Section had a ship in the area as well as a ground crew.

Poor weather on the west coast of Vancouver Island hampered the search.

The five passengers — who had been hiking in the area — and one pilot were headed to Gold River, in the central region of Vancouver Island, according to police.

The float plane — a de Havilland Beaver — was chartered by Air Nootka, an operation based out of Gold River. Reached by phone, the company’s Ron Sine said he was unable to comment.

On Wednesday, the group of five stopped by an unnamed outpost in Hesquiaht Village that’s popular with hikers on the Hesquiat Peninsula trail. They bought fudge and water, as well as a decorative glass ball and cedar bark roses, said Dianne Ignace, who runs the giftshop. She receives about 100 hikers a year, and writes down their purchases in a ledger.

She believed the hikers were white, in their 50s and spoke English, but wasn’t sure if they were from the Lower Mainland. They were about halfway through the 50-kilometre trail. Hesquiat Lake is a two-day hike away, and most hikers get picked up by float plane and returned to Gold River, she said.

Jean Jackson of the Hesquiaht First Nation, said dozens of local people took part in the ground, beach and water search.

The crash site is a 90-minute drive from Hot Spring Cove on an abandoned logging road, and “gale force winds” in the region over the past few days had downed trees. Nine members of the Ahousat nation had to drive in to help remove a large tree that made the road impassable.

Those volunteers were close to the crash site when the search was called off, Jackson said. Crews were told by the Coast Guard that two survivors had walked away from the crash.

A special panel convened by the B.C. Coroners Service last year made a number of recommendations to improve the safety of float planes, including requiring every passenger to wear flotation devices during flights and requiring planes to have rapid-escape emergency exits as well as satellite tracking systems to locate crash sites faster.

The panel looked at four crashes that killed 23 people over five years.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Saskatoon loves its Christmas lights. The Enchanted Forest draws thousands of vehicles each week. The late Bob Hinitt worked for months building his light display, which drew thousands of cars each year to Wiggins Avenue. And Scott Lambie on Clinkskill Drive has continued the tradition with more than 70,000 dancing lights (up from 50,000 last […]

When it comes to gift giving, they say it’s the thought that counts. But many are wondering if Mayor Drew Dilkens was thinking at all when he gave Olympic superstar Michael Phelps — whose battles with booze are well known — a big bottle of Canadian Club whisky.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.